Britain's most senior police officer, Sir Paul Stephenson, was facing calls
for his resignation last night after admitting that a News of the World
executive arrested on suspicion of phone hacking was recently employed as
his personal adviser.

Neil Wallis (right) was paid more than £1,000 a day to work two days a month at Scotland Yard as a consultant to Sir Paul Stephenson (left)

Neil Wallis, the former deputy editor of the tabloid, was paid more than £1,000 a day to work two days a month at Scotland Yard as a consultant to Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police commissioner.

Mr Wallis, known in Fleet Street as The Wolfman, was employed between October 2009 and September 2010 when the Met was facing repeated calls to reopen the investigation intophone hacking amid claims that executives at the newspaper were involved.

Yet Sir Paul had made no mention of the contract with Mr Wallis, Andy Coulson’s deputy, until forced to admit it yesterday. It led to claims that his appointment was an error of judgment which gave the appearance that the force was “colluding” with the newspaper.

Last night the Met was unable to say whether Sir Paul, who is ultimately responsible for the phone hacking investigation, had told deputy assistant commissioner Sue Akers, the officer leading the day-to-day inquiry of Mr Wallis’s professional relationship with the force.

It also emerged that Sir Paul held eight meetings with Mr Wallis while he was an executive at the tabloid.

One of the meetings was a dinner which took place less than a month after Clive Goodman, the News of the World’s royal editor, and Glenn Mulcaire, the private detective, were charged with phone hacking.

Mr Wallis, who worked at the tabloid when it was originally investigated, also advised John Yates, the officer once in charge of the phone hacking investigation. Mr Yates and Mr Wallis are personal friends.

Mr Wallis, 60, was arrested on suspicion of phone hacking yesterday and later released on bail. The revelations that he was employed by the Met have caused huge embarrassment to senior officers. A Scotland Yard source said: “We know how bad this looks.” Politicians and members of the police authority said his decision to employ an executive who served on the News of the World while it was being investigated over phone hacking raised serious questions about Sir Paul’s judgment.

Jenny Jones, a Green member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, called for Sir Paul and Mr Yates to resign. She said: “Both Sir Paul and Mr Yates have shown their judgment is very poor. It is absolutely time for them to move on.”

The Home Secretary has written to Sir Paul demanding an explanation, while the home affairs select committee has asked that he appear in front of them next week.

Boris Johnson, the London mayor, last night summoned Sir Paul to a meeting. Mr Johnson did not know until yesterday that Mr Wallis had been given a job at the Yard. The appointment of Mr Wallis will form part of the public inquiry into the scandal. His company, Chamy Media, won the contract in October 2009, two months after the force decided not to reopen the hacking inquiry. His role included writing speeches and giving public relations advice. The contract was terminated in September 2010 after the News of the World was further implicated in the hacking scandal in an article in the New York Times.

Mr Wallis appeared to have enjoyed close relations with the force’s most senior officers. Sir Paul had seven dinners and one meeting with him between Sept 2006 and June 2009. Mr Yates met Mr Wallis 12 years ago while working as a staff officer to the then commissioner Sir Paul Condon.

Mr Yates has made his relationship with Mr Wallis known to investigators. Sources close to Mr Yates insist that he played no part in the appointment of Mr Wallis, who beat competition from two other companies to land the contract.

The decision to award him the contract was made by Dick Fedorcio, the Met’s director of public affairs. Mr Wallis was said to be cheaper than the other bidders.

Sir Paul did not mention the fact that Mr Wallis was employed by the Met when he appeared in front of the Metropolitan Police Authority yesterday. The force released a statement confirming the appointment after the meeting. Sir Paul said: “I had absolutely no involvement with the inquiry in 2006 and I had no reason to suspect anyone, including the individual you are talking about [Mr Wallis] of involvement in the inquiry in 2006. I do not believe on any occasion I have acted inappropriately. I am very satisfied with my own integrity. But I do accept … and acknowledge that perceptions can be different from reality.”

Chris Bryant, the Labour MP who was a victim of phone hacking, said: “Sir Paul Stephenson has questions to answer about his judgment because this smacks of collusion.”